That s what friends are for
by Mariposa68
Summary: Annie learns why Auggie gave his car to her and he opens up to her about the reasons.


Annie

Annie had just returned home. The day had ended with two surprises for her. The first one was that Auggie had confessed that he was going to Eritrea to visit his girl friend and the second one was that she had a new car. Well….it was not exactly new, it was actually an Oldtimer built in the late 1960s but to her it was new. Auggie had given her his Corvette. She could not believe her eyes and ears when Auggie had placed the keys right into her palm. She was happy, because she loved cars and she loved old cars like this Corvette. But on the other hand, she asked herself why Auggie had given her his car. He could have sold it for a lot of money to someone who collected Oldtimers but he had preferred to give the car to her.

Auggie

Auggie had decided to give the car to Annie, because he liked her and he knew that she would take care of his "baby". And deep inside, he hoped that one day Annie would take him for a ride. That would not be possible, if he had sold the car to a complete stranger. After his accident, he had kept the car, hoping that maybe one day he would drive again. But the visit at the hospital the week before and the MRI results had clearly shown, that it was impossible for him to regain sight. At least not in this life. He had adapted to his visual disability, but despite that, the news he received from Dr. Kessle was devastating. He was not a suitable candidate for stem cell therapy. That meant, that the last bit of hope to be able to see again was gone. First, he had considered, to let Annie know what was going on with him, but then he had thought it was better not to tell her. He wanted her to have fun with his car and he did not want to be pitied.

After a long day in Langley, Annie knocked on the glass door of the Tech Ops office. Auggie was still sitting at his desk. His fingers flew across the Braille keyboard, reading the information that was displayed on the screen in front of him. As always, he was very focused on his job because he took everything that he did seriously. Annie knocked, opened the door and a wave of Joe Malone Grapefruit told Auggie´s nostrils who was just about to enter his office. "Hey Annie" He looked up into her general direction and smiled. Annie walked towards Auggie and sat down on the edge of his desk. She smiled at him and asked "Would you like to go on a trip after work? I could use some fresh air and maybe we could grab a drink at Allen´s later?" "Excellent idea" Auggie was delighted "I would love to come with you." "In 15 minutes at my desk?" Annie asked. "I just have to write an email and shut down my computer and then we can leave".

Fifteen minutes later Annie was guiding Auggie towards her car, or his car in this case. Auggie had no idea. He thought that they were taking her red VW. But when they reached the parking lot and Annie placed Auggie´s hand on the doorknob, his face light up and with an incredulous look he asked "Annie we are going in my Corvette, aren´t we?" "Yes we do" Annie replied "That is fantastic" Auggie was happy. He would not have believed to sit in his car so soon again. "Where do you want to go?" Annie asked him " I don´t know, I am just happy and surprised that I get to sit in my….excuse me…in _my former_ car again." Annie drove through the outskirts of town and Auggie enjoyed the wind on his face and the feeling of freedom. Compared to using a car service or a bus all the time to get to work, this was a completely different experience. An experience he had been missing for so long since he could not drive anymore.

After an hour, Annie drove back and parked her car in front of Allen´s Tavern. Then, she guided Auggie to her favourite table and they ordered beer and some snacks. Auggie felt for the jar with the beer, took a sip and said "That was the best day in a long time." Annie was happy. She loved to see Auggie smile. His smile was one of the reasons why she had liked him from day one. "May I ask you something?" Annie asked after a while. Auggie tried to meet her gaze and said "Sure, what is it?" "Well, I have been asking myself why you gave me your car." And there she was, the question that Auggie had dreaded. But now, there was no way back. He could invent a story, but he did not want to lie to Annie. He cleared his throat and began "Well….you know that I bought the Corvette shortly before I went to Iraq. When I got back I was blind. But still I had some hope to drive this car again." He paused, swallowed and continued "About five weeks ago, I had an appointment at the University Hospital. I was hoping to be a candidate for an experimental surgery with stem cells. But after an MRI and a thorough medical check-up, it was clear, that I will never see again. Giving you my car, meant to give up hoping for a miracle to restore my sight. As long as I had this car, I still believed in a change but now…" And then he stopped and for the first time since they had met, Annie saw tears in Auggie´s eyes.

He was not a man of many words and always tried to hide his emotions. Therefore Annie was deeply moved when she looked at the sad expression on his face. Annie reached across the table, took Auggie´s hand and squeezed it. "I am so sorry" she said "But I did not know that. Why didn´t you tell me?" Auggie squeezed Annie´s hand in return and replied "I did not want you to feel sorry for me. I don´t need pity. Not from you and not from anyone else. To be honest, I did not want you to know about all this. If you had not asked, I would have kept this from you." Annie let go of his hand, looked into Auggie´s eyes, well knowing he could not see her and said "We are friends ,and if you need someone to talk to, I will always be there for you. You didn´t have to go through that alone. Promise me to let me know whenever you need help." " I promise I will." Auggie answered and reached across the table in search of Annie´s hand.


End file.
